Rack for apparel belts or the like



April 15, 1947. H. H. WEHRINGER 2, ,1

RACK FOR APPAREL BELTS OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 2'7, 1944 l N V EN TOR.

Erma EMZgz/Wen BY i 4 16621 7437;

Patented Apr. 15, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Herman H.

Wehringer, Montclair, N. J

Application September 27, 1944, Serial No. 555,951

2Claims.

. This invention relates to improvements in means. for supporting articles of wearing apparel, and the invention has reference, more particularly, to improvements in racks especially adapted for supporting a plurality of apparel belts or like articles.

The invention has for an object to provide a simple, compact and easily manipulatable rack from which a plurality of articles, such as apparel belts, may be suspended for safe keeping when not in use, but subject to selective removal for use.

The invention has for another object to provide a novel construction of rack for the purposes stated comprising a base or body member adapted to be fixed against a wall, door or other perpendicular surface, and a novel slotted rack means to which the belts or like articles may be applied for suspension therefrom, said rack means being pivotally connected with the base or body member so. as, to swing in horizontal, plane toward and from th'e latter, whereby when inswung slots thereof are closed against accidental, displacement therefrom of the belts or like articles entered therein, and when outswung said slots are opened endwise for lateral withdrawal of the belts or like articles therefrom.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following detailed description of the same.

Illustrative embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front face view of one form of an article support according to this invention, with the article supporting rack means thereof shown by' full lines in closed position and by broken lines in open position; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the article support showing one. of its rack members in closed position and another thereof in open position; and Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the article support with its rack means closed.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a. modified form of an article support according to-this: invention,

with the article supporting rack means: thereof shown by full lines in closed position and by broken lines in partially open position; and Fig. 5 is an end elevational view thereof with its rack means closed.

Similar characters of reference are employed 5 in the h'ereinabove described views to indicate corresponding parts.

The form of the novel article. support shown in Figs. 1'. t 3 inclusivecomprisesv a base. or body member Ill. the. same. being of: nose, formed to provide astraightbottom edge l l, the. surface of Whichis substantially right angular in plane to the face plane of, said base or body member; said baseor bndy. member being otherwise of any desired peripheral shape or configurasubstantial. thicksecured to the bottom edge ll for extension in horizontal plane from the base or body member in, and from a point midway between, the ends of the latter, is stop member I2. Said stop member I! is preferably provided along its underside with supporting ledges l3 respectively projecting laterally beyond the respective side faces thereof;

In use, said base or body member It is positioned with its back against a wall, door or other perpendicular surface l4, and is then aiiixed in place by suitable fastening means, such as screws H: or the like.

Pivotally connected with the bottom edge H of, the base or body member l0,,at points adjacent to each end of the latter, and so as to extend therefrom in horizontal plane, are preferably rectangular rack members l6 of suitable thickness.

The pivotal connection or support for each rack member l6 comprises a pivoting means, such e. g. as a screw H, which extends upwardly through the rearward inner corner portion thereof, and thence into the base or body member in so as to be fixed in the latter. Each rack member is provided with an inner longitudinal side edge portion I8 which, when the rack member is disposed in closed relation to the base or body member !0, partially laps the bottom edge H of the latter, so as to be offset from the wall, door or other surface M to which the base or body member is aflixed, whereby to provide clearance space between said side edge portion l8 and said surface M so that swinging movements of the rack member are not impeded by said surface. Each rack member l5 is provided with a plurality oflongitudinal laterally spaced slots 19 extending into the body thereof from its forward or free transverse end 2%], said slots being therefore outwardly openat said forward or free transverse end 20. When the rack members l6 are swung inwardly toward the base or body memher it, their forward or free transverse ends 20 will be respectively disposed to abut the intermediate stop member !2, whereby the open ends of the slots l9 will be closed, while at the same time the marginal. portions of said ends Zil will be lodged over the, supporting ledges lit with which said stop member i2 is, provided.

The supporting or rack device is especially adapted for supporting apparel belts, for safe keeping when not in use, and in the form thereof tion. Fixedly outward right angular above described is mani ulatecl in use in the following manner: I I

Theracle members it when outswung to open position indicated by broken lines in Fig. 1 and by full lines at the right hand endof Fig. 2 present their slots l9 with their open ends outwardly di rected, and. thus permit the bodies of belts. B, with their thickened buckle ends b upward, to be slid into the slots I 9; said slots being wide enough to accommodate the single thickness of the belt bodies, but not wide enough to permit the double thickness formed by the buckle ends thereof to pass downwardly therethrough', and consequently the belts are supported by said buckle ends b to depend from the rack members [6, as shown in Fig. 1. When the belts B are thusmounted on the rack members It, the latter may be swung inward to closed position. When said rack members l6 are thus swung inward, their free ends 20 are brought into abutment upon the stop member [2, thus closing the open ends of the slots l9 against displacement of suspended belts therethrough It will be obvious that the supporting or rack device is compact and easily manipulatable, so that the belts suspended therefrom are individually separated one from another, and thus any one thereof may be selectively removed for use without disturbing the suspended and supported relation of others. The structure is mechanically simple, involves but a minimum of parts, and is of such form that its base or body and rack member parts may be easily made from a selected material, such e. g. as wood, with simple tools and by exercise of but a minimum of labor both in the production of said parts and in the assembly thereof.

In Figs. 4 and is shown a somewhat modified form of the novel supporting or rack device embodying the principles of this invention, the same comprising a main base or body member 390i substantial thickness and provided with a straight bottom edge 3!. Pivotally connected with the bottom edge 3! of said main body or base member 30 adjacent to an end thereof, and so as to extend therefrom in horizontal plane, is 2. rectangular rack member 32 of suitable thickness. The pivotal connection for said rack member 32 comprises a pivoting means, such e. g. as a screw 33, which extends upwardly through a rearward corner portion thereof, and thence into the main base or body member 30. Said rack member 32 is provided with an inner longitudinal edge portion 34 which, when the rack member is disposed in closed relation to the main base or body member 36, partially laps the bottom edge 3| of the latter, so as to be offset from the wall, door or other surface M to which the main base or body member is aifixed, whereby to provide clearance space between said edge portion 34 and said surface 14 so that swinging movements of the rack member are not impeded by said surface. If desired, the main base or body member may be provided with a bottom. section 35 spaced downwardly from the bottom edge portion 3! thereof for a distance equivalent to the thickness of the rack member 32, thus providing a supporting ledge upon which the rack member edge portion 34 is disposed when saidrack member is inswung to closed position relative to said main base or body member. Said bottom section is aifixed to the main base or body member at one end by the rack member pivoting screw 33 and at its opposite end by a similar screw 36. Said rack member 32 is provided with a plurality of transverse spaced apart slots 31' extending thereinto from its inner longitudinal edge 34, said slots being outwardly open at said edge. When the rack member is inswung to closed position, one of said slots may straddle the fastenin screw 36. Extending between the bottom edge of the main base or body member 30 and the bottom section 35 is sertion a stop pin 38 adapted to be abutted by the inner longitudinal edge 34 of the rack member, when the latter is inswung to closed position.

Itwill be understood, that when the rack member 32 is outswung to open position, its inner longitudinal edge 34 will be exposed to present the 31 with their open ends accessible for inor removal of belts carried by said rack member. When the rack member 32 is inswung to closed position, the open end portions of said slots 31 will be covered by the main base mem ber or body 30, and thus closed against displacement of belts suspended through the slots.

' It will be understood that in general principles of construction and in mode of operation the last described form of the supporting or rack device is generally the same as that of the first described form.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A rack device for the purposes described, comprising a flat base member of substantial in horizontal plane toward and from said stop means, said rack means having a plurality of spaced apart article receiving slots entering therethrough from an edge thereof which normally abuts said stop means so as to be outwardly open at said edge, said stop means being of length corresponding to the length of said slotted edge of said rack means, whereby said open ends of the slots are closed when the rack means is inswung to abut said stop means and accessibly exposed when said rack means is outswung from said stop means.

2. A rack device for the purposes described, comprising a stationary base 'member adapted to be fixed in perpendicular plane against a wall, door or other surface, said base member having a stop member aflixed thereto to extend outwardly therefrom in horizontal plane at a point midway between its ends, a pair of movable rack members pivotally connected at their inner rearward corner portions respectively to opposite end portions of said base member so as to respectively swing in horizontal plane to and from a normal closed position parallel to said base member with their free transverse end edges respectively abutting opposite sides of said stop member, and said rack members each having spaced apart article receiving slots entering therethrough from their said free transverse end edges so as to be outwardly open at said edges, the open ends of said slots being accessibly exposed when said rack members are outswung from their aforesaid closed positions.

HERMAN H. WEHRINGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 665,012 Johnson Jan. 1, 1901 676,573 Bowers June 18, 1901 1,357,123 Smith Oct. 26, 1920 1,554,818 Greenstreet Sept. 22, 1925 2,102,966 Nash Dec. 21, 1937 2,291,381 Drake July 28, 19 12 

